Two vying for the GOP's slot in the lieutenant governor race

Published: Monday, February 25, 2002

DEON DAUGHERTYMORRIS NEWS SERVICE

AUSTIN  The race for a Republican contender against Democrat John Sharp in the general election is set between two self-made millionaires who believe they could lead the Texas Senate through potentially rocky financial times.

Texas Land Commissioner David Dewhurst, an energy and investments business owner, and Tom Kelly, chief operating officer for an investments company in Galveston, are vying for the GOP's slot in the lieutenant governor challenge.

Dewhurst, 56, was elected land commissioner in 1998. Those duties include managing more than 20 million acres of land and mineral interests and oversight of the state's coastal resources and veterans programs.

Dewhurst said he's been able to return money budgeted to the agency by running an efficient office.

In 1981, Dewhurst founded Falcon Seaboard, a Houston-based diversified energy and investments company.

"As lieutenant governor, Dewhurst also will use the skills that made him a successful businessman to help Texas serve its citizens and to solve the challenges facing our state," his spokesman Nick Voinis said in a news release.

Dewhurst was named earlier this year to chair the Governor's Task Force on Homeland Security, but he has come under fire from West Texans for his role this summer in the Legislative Redistricting Board.

The Republican-dominated board passed Texas House and Senate plans, which later were approved by a federal panel.

But the maps were skewered by some leaders who believed the public's interest was sacrificed to partisan preference.

A county swap between Senate districts held by Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, and Teel Bivins, R-Amarillo, was made against the loud concern of leaders in Gray and Howard counties.

The House district seated by Speaker Pete Laney, D-Hale Center, was rearranged beyond what many area lawmakers believed was necessary, and two local representatives were drawn into the same district.

Lubbock County GOP Chairman Marc McDougal said that in the South Plains, redistricting won't be a drawback for Dewhurst.

"We're not happy with the way redistricting took place, with us losing a seat that we feel is very important, but at the same time, we understand that's behind us and we've got to move forward," he said.

The second contender for the GOP's lieutenant governor slot, Kelly, is a newcomer to politics.

He has said he won't seek a second term. His only impetus for running now is to try to "straighten up the wastefulness that's going on," his campaign manager, Kurt Smith, said.

Smith said Kelly, 59, believes surplus cash is going to pet projects instead of being used to wisely help Texans.

"Millions are being channeled elsewhere from the Lotto," which should be going to public education, he said.

In addition, money to aid women with housing is being wasted.

Many women who receive Section 8 money permit their husbands or boyfriends to move into the government housing, he said. Criminal activity may take place, which defeats the purpose of the government aid, Smith said.

"We know it. This is where the big waste in Texas is going," he said.

In addition, Smith said Kelly would push for investigation of Child Protective Services.

"We're spending a small fortune on uneducated people that don't know what they're doing," he said.

Kelly is financially secure and has provided for his family, Smith said.